SoxFest will return Jan. 24-25, 2025, according to a news release from the team. Sure, the event is almost a full year away, but this will be the first time since 2020 that fans will get to meet with and question team brass.
In the four years since, the team has been making excuses for not holding SoxFest. They've hidden behind the COVID-19 pandemic, even in 2022 when the overwhelming majority of the American public no longer cared about the virus.
In 2023, they canceled SoxFest, citing "multiple factors," without elaborating on what those factors were. This year? They didn't even bother to make announcement.
One can only assume the Sox weren't eager to face their fans after a 61-101 season in 2023. Early predictions for 2024 are calling for a similar season -- the current Las Vegas over/under for the Sox win total is 63.5.
So why would the team pick now to bring back this event? Well, for starters, 2025 is the 20th anniversary of the 2005 World Series championship team. It is also the 125th anniversary of the franchise.
The venue, activities and guests for SoxFest will be announced at a (likely much) later time, but expect to see a lot of the 2005 heroes at this event. I won't be surprised if Paul Konerko, Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski, Joe Crede, Aaron Rowand, Bobby Jenks and the rest of the gang are brought back to keep the booing to a minimum.
Less cynically and more optimistically, the Sox have a lot of money coming off the books after the 2024 season. Perhaps next offseason, they might actually make some moves to reshape the roster and give fans hope for the 2025 season. Right now, hope is in short supply for 2024.
Either way, the move to bring back SoxFest is long overdue. Congratulations, team, on finally doing something right.
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